Workman Publishing has bought Como Sales, the Northeast commission group founded by the late Henry Hirsch more than 40 years ago and associated with the growth of Workman, according to the Call Report, the newsletter of the National Association of Independent Publishers Representatives. Judy Hirsch, the daughter of Henry Hirsch, confirmed the sale.
Steven Pace, national trade sales director of Workman, is now directing Como Sales, which, the Call Report said, has become "the East Coast sales organization for Workman and its subsidiaries" and may add other clients. All the members of Como Sales except for Judy Hirsch will remain with the group. In addition, the Dixie Group, formed two years ago to serve Workman and Norton in the South, has changed: Norton has withdrawn from the group and has apparently let go its independent commission reps from secondary accounts in the Southeast and Mid-South.
NAIPR called Workman's purchase of Como Sales "one of the most interesting and unorthodox developments to emerge recently that serves to blur the lines of demarcation between house reps and independent commission publishers' representatives."